BATON ROUGE, La., – The University of North Alabama softball team used dominant pitching and timely hitting to sweep a pair of games from Louisiana Tech on Saturday. The 2-0 and 3-2 victories give UNA an 8-2 record on the season.

Megan Garst out-dueled a pair of Bulldog pitchers in the opener and the Lions got a walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning in the second game.

In the opener, Garst went the distance in the circle, tossing a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. After striking out five of the first seven batters faced, she allowed a single to lead off the bottom of the third inning. The senior from Columbiana, however, retired the next 11 batters.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs finally got a base runner by reaching on an error to lead off the frame. Garst got the next batter to pop up before ending the game on a double play.

On offense, UNA scored single runs in the top of the first and second innings. After drawing a leadoff walk, Meleah Hargett was sacrificed to second. She later scored on a passed ball to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

A two-out rally extended the lead in the top of the second inning. UNA drew three consecutive walks to load the bases before Lexie Harper singled to centerfield and score Emma Broadfoot from third. It was the only hit of the day for the Lions as Garst (4-1) dueled with Louisiana Tech's Bre Hernandez (three innings) and Kara Goff (four innings).

In the second game, UNA against struck first. Emma Latham led off the bottom of the second inning with a single. Harley Stokes also reached base after being hit by a pitch. The two reached second and third with two outs before Danielle de Ruiter singled to center field to drive home both runs.

Sidney Revels was able to hold the two-run lead for the Lions until the top of the sixth inning. Solo home runs by Goff in the top of the fourth and sixth innings tied the game. As a team, the Bulldogs managed only three other hits.

After Goff's second blast tied the game at 2-2, neither team scored in the seventh. Alyssa Drogemuller came in to pitch after the first Bulldog batter reached on an error in the top of the frame. She retired three of the next four batters, stranding the potential go-ahead run.

With the international tie-breaker rule putting a runner at second base to start the eighth inning, Louisiana Tech was unable to take advantage as Drogemuller recorded three straight fly balls. In the bottom of the frame, a single by Georgia Land moved the winning run to third base. A ground ball by Hargett then scored Stokes from third for the game-winner.

For the game, Broadfoot and de Ruiter each went 2-for-4 at the plate. Revels also scattered five hits over the first six innings before Drogemuller (1-0) recorded the victory in the circle after pitching the final two innings.

UNA will play a single game at Ole Miss on Wednesday, March 3. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Oxford, Miss.